1984 United States presidential election in Missouri

The presidential election of 1984 was a very solidly partisan election for Missouri, with 100% of the electorate voting only for either the Democratic or Republican parties, and only those two parties appearing on the ballot.[1] Nearly every county in Missouri voted in majority for Reagan, a particularly strong turn out even in this typically conservative leaning state. The only exceptions to this trend were the more populated centers of the city of St. Louis (though, notably, not St. Louis County), and the portion of Kansas City within Jackson County, which stand out as voting mainly Democratic in this election. A few historically pro-Confederate and unionized Lead Belt counties, chiefly Reynolds County, also backed Mondale.

Missouri weighed in for this election as 2 percentage points more Republican than the national average.

Walter Mondale accepted the Democratic nomination for presidency after pulling narrowly ahead of Senator Gary Hart of Colorado and Rev. Jesse Jackson of Illinois - his main contenders during what would be a very contentious[2] Democratic primary. During the campaign, Mondale was vocal about reduction of government spending, and, in particular, was vocal against heightened military spending on the nuclear arms race against the Soviet Union,[3] which was reaching its peak on both sides in the early 1980s.

Taking a (what was becoming the traditional liberal) stance on the social issues of the day, Mondale advocated for gun control, the right to choose regarding abortion, and strongly opposed the repeal of laws regarding institutionalized prayer in public schools. He also criticized Reagan for his economic marginalization of the poor, stating that Reagan's reelection campaign was "a happy talk campaign," not focused on the real issues at hand.[4]

A very significant political move during this election: the Democratic Party nominated Representative Geraldine Ferraro to run with Mondale as Vice-President. Ferraro is the first female candidate to receive such a nomination in United States history. She said in an interview at the 1984 Democratic National Convention that this action "opened a door which will never be closed again,"[5] speaking to the role of women in politics.

Reagan challenging Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev to "tear down this wall!," from the Brandenburg Gate in June, 1987. Reagan's firm stance with the Soviet Union was an important contributor to his 1984 reelection.

Elections in Missouri
Federal government U.S. President 1820 1824 1828 1832 1836 1840 1844 1848 1852 1856 1860 1864 1868 1872 1876 1880 1884 1888 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 Dem Rep 2004 Dem Rep 2008 Dem Rep 2012 Dem Rep 2016 Dem Rep 2020 Dem Rep Missouri bellwether U.S. Senate 1821 1825 1827 1830 1833 1836 1839 1842 1843 sp 1845 1849 1851 1857 1857 sp 1861 1863 1863 sp 1868 1871 sp 1874 1879 1879 sp 1881 1885 1887 1891 1893 1897 1899 1903 1905 1909 1910 1911 1914 1916 1918 sp 1920 1922 1926 1926 sp 1928 1932 1934 1938 1940 1944 1946 1950 1952 1956 1958 1960 sp 1962 1964 1968 1970 1974 1976 1980 1982 1986 1988 1992 1994 1998 2000 2002 sp 2004 2006 2010 2012 2016 2018 U.S. House 1820 1822 1824 1826 1828 1831 1832 and 1833 1835 1836 1838 1840 1842 1844 1846 1848 1850 1852 1854 1856 1858 1860 1860 sp 1st 1862 1864 1866 1868 1870 1872 1874 1876 1878 1880 1882 1884 1886 1888 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1920 1922 1926 1928 1934 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1948 sp 10th 1950 1951 sp 11th 1952 1956 1960 1968 1972 1976 1980 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2013 sp 8th 2014 2016 2018 2020
State government Gubernatorial elections 1820 1824 1825 (special) 1828 1832 1836 1840 1844 1848 1852 1856 1857 (special) 1860 1864 1868 1870 1872 1874 1876 1880 1884 1888 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 Lieutenant gubernatorial elections 2004 2008 2012 2016 Attorney General elections 2012 2016 State Auditor elections 2010 2014 2018 State Treasurer elections 2012 2016 Secretary of State elections 2012 2016 Missouri Senate elections 2010 2018 Missouri House elections 2010
Ballot measures 2004 Amendment 2 2006 Amendment 2
Kansas City Mayoral elections 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019
Springfield Mayoral elections 2015
St. Louis Mayoral elections 2005 2009 2013 2017

By 1984, Reagan was very popular with voters across the nation as the President who saw them out of the economic stagflation of the early and middle 1970's, and into a period of (relative) economic stability.[6]

The economic success seen under Reagan was politically accomplished (principally) in two ways. The first was initiation of deep tax cuts for the wealthy,[7] and the second was a wide-spectrum of tax cuts for crude oil production and refinement, namely, with the 1980 Windfall profits tax cuts.[8] These policies were augmented with a call for heightened military spending,[9] the cutting of social welfare programs for the poor,[10] and the increasing of taxes on those making less than $50,000 per year.[7] Collectively called "Reaganomics", these economic policies were established through several pieces of legislation passed between 1980 and 1987.

These new tax policies also arguably curbed several existing tax loopholes, preferences, and exceptions, but Reaganomics is typically remembered for its trickle down effect of taxing poor Americans more than rich ones. Reaganomics has (along with legislation passed under presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton) been criticized by many analysts as "setting the stage" for economic troubles in the United State after 2007, such as the Great Recession.[11]

Virtually unopposed during the Republican primaries, Reagan ran on a campaign of furthering his economic policies. Reagan vowed to continue his "war on drugs," passing sweeping legislation after the 1984 election in support of mandatory minimum sentences for drug possession.[12] Furthermore, taking a (what was becoming the traditional conservative) stance on the social issues of the day, Reagan strongly opposed legislation regarding comprehension of gay marriage, abortion, and (to a lesser extent) environmentalism,[13] regarding the final as simply being bad for business.

Reagan won the election in Missouri with a resounding 20 point sweep-out landslide. While Missouri typically voted conservative at the time, the election results in Missouri are also reflective of a nationwide reconsolidation of base for the Republican Party, which took place through the 1980s; called by Reagan the "second American Revolution."[6] This was most evident during the 1984 presidential election.

It is speculated that Mondale lost support with voters nearly immediately during the campaign, namely during his acceptance speech at the 1984 Democratic National Convention. There he stated that he intended to increase taxes. To quote Mondale, "By the end of my first term, I will reduce the Reagan budget deficit by two thirds. Let's tell the truth. It must be done, it must be done. Mr. Reagan will raise taxes, and so will I. He won't tell you. I just did."[14] Despite this claimed attempt at establishing truthfulness with the electorate, this claim to raise taxes badly eroded his chances in what had already begun as an uphill battle against the charismatic Ronald Reagan.

Reagan also enjoyed high levels of bipartisan support during the 1984 presidential election, both in Missouri, and across the nation at large. Many registered Democrats who voted for Reagan (Reagan Democrats) stated that they had chosen to do so because they associated him with the economic recovery, because of his strong stance on national security issues with Russia, and because they considered the Democrats as "supporting American poor and minorities at the expense of the middle class."[13] These public opinion factors contributed to Reagan's 1984 landslide victory, in Missouri and elsewhere.

• Iran–Contra affair
• Nicaragua guerrilla war
• Presidency of Ronald Reagan